So I'm back in Tacoma which is nice eventhough the weather has been crazy lately. Who would think there would be multiple boughts of chilly weather and rain at the end of July? Other than that life is running smoothly. Thesis research is underway which is a little frightening as that means my last year at UPS is steadily approaching. Excitng, but scary nonetheless as I have no idea what to do afterwards. Work has no been settled as well. It was looking pretty hairy for a bit there, but now that Coach has finally called I can get started up in athletics. I'm excited. ;) But what is truly exciting is that the B-GLAD crap is getting organized and put away nicely in the attic. Maybe this year we'll actually be able to find everything quickly and efficiently, but we'll see.

Rugby is probably the second best sport in the world. (Second only to soccer/football, of course. Nothing can top football.) I went out to the stadium on the 21st and saw the All Blacks play the Springboks (South Africa). The first half was slow, which was kind of sad because when you are learning a new and not much is happening it makes it hard to pick up on the nuances and to pay attention to the game. The second half picked up real fast. The All Blacks charged right off the bat and ended up scoring three runs. :) It was good passing game and the basics for the game were easy to pick up and being in the stadium was awesome. The All Blacks ended up kicking Springboks' butts. :)

It was probably the best stadium game that I've been to. The people were so passionate during the game; it was amazing. There was a lot of hooting and hollering, and there was drunk Kiwi in front of us who kept trying to get a wave going. He did suceed a few times which made him very happy, but it was more exciting when he would fail. Just because he throw these mini tantrums--swearing, flipping off the group that didn't cooperate; it was hilarious.

Second game that I saw was at the Fox and the Ferret, which a little pub down the street. That night the All Blacks were playing the Wallabies (Austrailia). Now, as there is a major rivalry between Austrailia and New Zealand, there was a lot riding on the game. The Aussies were not allowed to win because they were on Kiwi turf (they played in Auckland) and they're Aussies. The pub was packed. Everyone was intent on the game and the players were really aggressive. It was so awesome. When you watch the game on the television they zoom in on the action and it's an aggressive game. There were players bleeding on the field, and they just kept going. They don't have pads and it's tackle, and oh, it's amazing. The States should get on the rugby wagon. The All Blacks kicked the Aussies out of the stadium. It was close in the beginnig, but the All Blacks just obliterated them in the end. It was amazing.

Oh, one last thought. The Haka is a cool practice. It's a challenge that the home team does to freak out the opponent. It's a really cool dance. The All Blacks is a Maori war challenge and it's intense. So awesome...

Number 4...The Larch.